https://tumbleandrose.co.uk/blogs/news-1.atomTumble and Rose - News2020-05-21T12:20:00+01:00Tumble and Rosehttps://tumbleandrose.co.uk/blogs/news-1/crystals2020-05-21T12:20:00+01:002020-05-21T14:19:36+01:00The Tumble & Rose everyday guide to crystalsHelen Louise
Crystals are magical in every respect - whether they spark a childlike interest and make you want to collect them all, or whether or not you find their unique energies help you, I think we can all agree that there is something innately magical about them, whatever your definition of the word.

This page gathers together all of the different crystals we use here at Tumble and Rose and provides a little bit of information about them to help you make your choices. This page is set up as a blog post so you can ask any questions you have in the comments section and we'll answer you there.

Where we talk about the powers and energies of crystals, we've gone for the most commonly accepted uses in the the metaphysical world, but each crystal has different powers for each person, so if a crystal resonates with you, go for it regardless of the use stated here - crystals and the energies you feel from them are a very personal thing! Some people feel that raw crystals and tumbled/polished crystals have different properties - here at Tumble and Rose we work with both, so you can find the right form for you, but don't stress about it too much.

We've not talked about 'birthstones' here as you shouldn't feel you should or can't connect with a stone because of your birth month - we will pop up another blog post about birthstones though as we know people like giving them as gifts!

We also use the terms 'crystal' and 'stone' interchangeably, and whilst they do have defined separate meanings, we use them here as all encompassing terms.

Agate- A pretty good starter crystal - super common, and is normal found in dyed slices, showcasing colour bands and points at the centre. An interesting stone, formed of different types of quartz and chalcedony. Agate is often used in homeware, such as coasters or bookends, and when dyed bright colours, form the basis of most childhood crystal collections - who doesn't have a small bright pink slice of agate somewhere, probably picked up from a museum?

Energies wise, Agate is good for courage, strength and grounding.

There are so many different types of agate available, but here at Tumble and Rose we love working with Moss Agate - so called because of the beautiful deep green mossy patterns that are suspended inside the stone.

Amethyst – The deep purple stone that forms the basis of most crystal collections. Naturally occurring in clusters, amethyst can vary from light to deep purple. It is a form of quartz, and is probably one of the most well known crystals out there. It has been used in jewellery since ancient times but is also frequently tumbled or left as points for collectors.

Amethyst is believed to have transformational powers, be the stone of protection and help with sleep.

You'll find lots of amethyst around Tumble and Rose HQ if you were ever to look around - it's our original favourite crystal as we have collected some pretty special pieces over the years. Top tip for amethyst crystal care - don't leave it in direct sunlight as this can fade the purple tones, and if you have a cluster, make sure to dust and clean it fairly regularly so you don't dull its power.

Ametrine – Ametrine is stunning - there's no two ways about it. Ametrine is a mix of both amethyst and citrine - these are both quartz forms that have been exposed to different levels of heat radiation whilst in the earth's surface and the colour is determined by the level of heat they experienced - Ametrine is a piece that was mid transition, with veins of yellow citrine running through the purple of amethyst. It is relatively rare compared to other crystals. Long story short, along with smokey quartz (which we'll get to later), we're OBSESSED.

Ametrine holds the energy of both citrine and amethyst and is viewed as a very powerful, all round great crystal.

Like amethyst, leave this out of direct sunlight or it will start to lose colour vibrancy.

Bloodstone – Bloodstone is an opaque dark green stone with red speckles. It's been used in jewellery since the middle ages and has A LOT of different myths connected with it. It's pretty commonly used in modern day stories as a magical stone too...

Bloodstone is stone of courage, magic and protection.

Carnelian – A deep rust to pale orange coloured stone with a slight translucence - another form of chalcedony. Carnelian is frequently found in Brazil and India, where it's been used for carvings and jewellery since jewellery was first made...

Celestite – Baby blue crystal points, usually found inside geodes in Madagascar. Also known as Celestine.

Celestite is a super calming stone, and is great for inspiration and enhancing your intuition.

Care tip - celestite in cluster form is pretty soft - the little points seem to want to separate from each other, so handle with care! This is another crystal that fades in the sun, so keep in a shaded spot to keep the beautiful blue shades bright!

Citrine – Another crystal collection powerhouse and a stone you might be familiar with - Citrine is a bright yellow form of quartz, naturally found in clusters. Natural citrine is rare, so most citrine out there is super heat treated amethyst, mimicking the process that citrine undergoes in the ground.

Citrine is the sunshine stone - great for positive energy, creativity and setting/smashing your goals!

Care tip - although citrine looks like sunshine in a stone, it actually fades in direct sunlight. If you've got a cluster, make sure you give it a bit of love occasionally with a wash or dust!

Desert Rose – A bit of an outlier on this list that is often overlooked as it's not a 'traditionally' beautiful crystal, but it packs a punch! It's a form of selenite formed from ancient desert sand, often found in Mexico and Morocco. As the name suggests, this little stone resembles a rose made out of sand.

A powerful stone for focus and grounding, it also helps with rebalancing negative emotions.

Care tip - as the name might suggest, this little guy loves to be dry! Don't get it wet...dust occasionally but never wash!

Emerald - You know the Emerald City? Well, that's a bit misleading - only very few emeralds are a translucent green - most are a deep opaque green with black inclusions. Emerald is another one that is frequently cut into gemstones and used in precious jewellery.

Emerald has been long prized for its ability to attract good fortune and health.

Fluorite –This crystals is another showstopper and Tumble and Rose favourite. Fluorite contains bands of green, purple and sometimes blue. It's really beautiful, which makes it a prize for most collectors.

The energies of fluorite are said to vary according to its dominant colour, but in general is it seen as a stone of focus, productivity and creativity - a great one for any home office!

Hematite –A deep black-silver once polished, Hematite looks and feels a bit more like a metal than a crystals. It has magnetic properties once highly heated, and looks rusty red in its natural state. Hematite is a satisfying stone to hold - very tactile!

Hematite is used for anchoring and grounding, recharging, protection balance and calming.

Kyanite– An interesting blue stone that forms in flat layers - raw kyanite specimens are known as blades. Kyanite also occurs in a black form.

Kyanite is known as an energy purifier with strong cleansing and communication properties - kyanite necklaces are favoured as it holds the stone close to the throat.

Care tip - handle carefully! Kyanite can be a bit flakey when raw - polished wands are way stronger.

Moonstone – Like Labradorite, Moonstone looks like one of the most magical stones out there. At the other end of the spectrum, Moonstone is white based and contains flashes of blues once polished, as well as greens and yellows.

Obviously Moonstone is great for moon magic, but also intuition and tapping your subconcious.

Here at Tumble and Rose, we love moonstone and use any excuse we can to include it in our jewellery...

Peridot -Like emerald, peridot is frequently used for jewellery and is on the green end of the spectrum. It's a very light, lemony green, and naturally forms little chunks that are on the more opaque end of things - specimens are prized for their clarity, and these are the ones frequently cut into gemstones.

Peridot is a stone of positivity.

Pyrite –'Fools Gold' - most like seen when you panned for gold as a child, but this stone is a little supercharged powerhouse and packs quite a punch. It was used in ancient Greece to start fires (pyr=fire) and naturally forms little cubes and octahedrons.

Metaphysically, Pyrite is great at instilling confidence, bringing luck, productivity and creativity - we keep a chunk with us at all times...(plus it's pretty cool to look at!)

Care tip - although this is frequently used for panning for gold at theme parks, it shouldn't actually be exposed to water due to its metallic nature - so keep it dry!

Quartz –Who has a crystal collection that didn't start with clear quartz? Probably very few! Quartz is THE default crystal that people think of, and is an all round great piece of kit. Quartz is actually used in pretty much all modern technology - take that for power!

Quartz is a great all rounder, but is especially good for transformation, clarity and healing. It's basically an essential crystals for everything!

Rose Quartz -A light pink form of Quartz, and where the name Tumble and Rose came from! We used to collect tumbled rose quartz stones and the name kind of stuck. Rose Quartz doesn't form clusters like traditional quartz and instead is usually found in lumps which are then tumbled to make them smooth.

The traditional stone of love and compassion, Rose Quartz is also lovely for when you need to be a bit kinder to yourself.

Sardonyx –Super similar to carnelian, but also contains bits of onyx, Sardonyx is a stripey stone consisting of orange and brown-black hues.

Sardonyx is a stone of strength, stability, protection and grounding.

Selenite – Named after the Moon Goddess Selene, Selenite is the ultimate moon magic stone. It forms in flakey white 'lasers' and when the light hits it just right, reflects just the like moon. It's a really beautiful stone which is now gaining popularity for use in homeware as well as jewellery.

The ultimate crystal for cleansing, clearing and setting new moon intentions/full moon reflections. Usually handily in a wand format. Selenite is also used to charge other crystals, so can be shaped into small plates and bowls.

Care tip - Selenite is super similar to kyanite in terms of structure, so handle with care and expect a bit of flaking. Also, as it's a soft stone, don't submerge it in water as it will start to absorb it.

Smokey Quartz –Probably our favourite stone of the moment, Smokey Quartz is a variety of quartz with black and brown colouring - kind of looking like smoke is trapped inside a quartz point! Smokey quartz elestials can sometimes also contain amethyst and citrine, creating a magical little powerhouse.

Smokey Quartz is great for grounding, calming, stress relief and meditation.

Care tip, again, leave out of direct sunlight.

Tangerine Quartz –Another quartz form, this time orange! This is due to little iron particles inside or on the crystal, creating a little rust effect.

Tangerine Quartz is said to be good for body positivity, confidence, sensuality, and ..ahem...bedroom activities.

Despite being metal based and a form of quartz, this one is significantly less sensitive to the elements!

Tiger’s Eye -A shimmery golden brown stone with lots of magical depths of colour - super retro and popular in the 70's, and also named checked in our favourite film ever, Practical Magic. Tiger's Eye is amazingly tactile when polished and seems to colour shift in front of your eyes.

Tiger's Eye is great for change, courage, activation and protection.

Tourmaline - Last but not least, Tourmaline. A crystal that forms in rectangles, ranging from black to pink and green to blue. Black tourmaline is the most widely available, with watermelon tourmaline being the rarest.

Tourmaline is the ultimate stone of protection, grounding and recharging.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the crystals out there, but it does cover the crystals you can get from Tumble and Rose, hopefully helping you choose!

Like we said earlier, if you've got any questions, please leave a comment below and we'll do our best to answer them! Please also let us know if there's any other crystals you'd like to see! We'll do another little post on ways to cleanse your crystals, crystals for birthstones and stones for chakras.

Happy May! I know it's not quite the one we were hoping for, what with...the situation...but I hope things are starting to settle for you and emotions are running less raw. April was awful for me personally - very low emotionally and energy wise - I've always wanted more time to do stuff but when I got it, it wasn't quite what I expected. Anyway, May has been way more creative and positive - you might have noticed a few new things round here - there's been a website redesign (you can now search by theme - night skies / minimal / crystals / nature), a whole new crystal drop and lots of new pieces of jewellery, oh and some floral resin ring cones too that you guys just can't seem to get enough of!

On a postage note, the postal service seems to have stabilised a bit, so we're back to acception international orders - you'll get a shipping email with a tracking number once your order is on the way - please see the updated Covid-19 shipping info page for more infomation.

I've also finally come up with a mandala design I'm happy with, along with a few other band rings...

I'm currently working on some spell candles that I'm hoping to get into the shop soon and working on some other designs now I've got the time - what would you like to see?

xo

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https://tumbleandrose.co.uk/blogs/news-1/what-to-expect-from-our-botanical-candle-workshops2019-09-11T12:49:00+01:002020-04-29T14:25:16+01:00Workshops: What to expect from our Botanical Candle workshopsHelen Louise
If you follow me on Instagram, or have popped by my studio recently, you might know that I teach botanical candle workshops, usually in the Production House at my studio, and sometimes at other locations (next guest spot is at Ashcroft in Fareham). There’s only so much I can pop in an Eventbrite info section, so I thought I’d do a little blog post on what to expect from one of the workshops –these are constantly evolving as people give me feedback on them, so if you’ve already been to one, they might be a little different now!

I’m also doing some festive versions of these over the winter months, with the main differences being the botanicals we use, some calligraphy labels in case you want to use them as gifts and some new containers.

First things first, there’s a wide range of tea, coffee and biscuits available at every workshop. The workshops tend to start at 10 or 2, with people arriving anywhere from quarter to the hour so the first few minutes are chilled whilst people get their drink, pick their seat, have a nose at some of the posters I’ve popped by the tea point and starting reading the disclaimer I’ve put on the tables. This basically says you’ll listen to what I tell you and won’t stick your hand on the hot plate – silly I know, but my insurance requires it!

After we’ve all settled in, I’ll go through a quick health and safety talk and run through the timings of the session (if you’ve got any allergies or adjustments needed, please tell me ahead of the workshop)

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We’re then straight into the theory! We use all natural materials in the workshop, from soy wax to essential oils and dried botanicals such as petals and leaves from inclusion in the candles. We talk about why we use these, the benefits of this rather than synthetics and also go through how to create your perfect essential oil blend. We use lots of families of essential oils so there is bound to be something you love – floral, citrus, herb, wood and spice.

I’ll then guide the group through making their first candle and the theory behind this, from picking a container and wick, creating wick supports, melting the wax, pouring, adding the scent and inclusions and leaving to set.

After everyone has made their first candle, it’s back to the table for more tea, scent planning and box making (to carry your candles home in) and then I let people loose! From this bit onwards I’m on hand to answer questions about scents and other things and keeping the supply of wax constant. Attendees can use this time to make as many candles as they want, or really take the time to experiment with their perfect blends. I find people tend to leave with around 8 candles, but this does vary per person! (All material costs are included in the ticket price!).

Towards the end of the two hours, everyone gets a ‘last candle’ warning and then we all come back together as a group, finish our tea and do a general Q&A session where I talk about suppliers and my experiences. We also go over CLP labelling if you did want to start making candles to sell.

It’s always lovely to see the candles people make – I find that each group tends to gravitate towards different scents – I think it’s a case of when one person does it, the others realise it is a good idea so everyone makes one. It’s super interesting to see the different combinations people come up with – everything smells different to different people!

If you did want to come along to one of the workshops, you can grab tickets from my remaining dates here.

-Helen xo

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https://tumbleandrose.co.uk/blogs/news-1/11-ways-to-be-more-eco-friendly-as-a-small-business2019-09-04T08:00:00+01:002020-04-29T14:24:36+01:00Ideas: 11 ways to be more eco friendly as a small businessHelen Louise
One of the things I realised is that as a small business, I can’t save the world, but I can definitely reduce the impact that I have – as my business is still small, I have the option to make conscious choices about the stuff I do and things I put out into the world – no-one is making decisions for me, and although in some instances that is terrifying, in terms of eco-friendliness it’s actually a great thing!

If you’re just starting a small business or have one but want to up your green credentials, I’ve had a little think about 11 ways to help do this – I hope you find them useful!

If you’re not a business owner but are having a browse of this blog post, hopefully you can take away some ideas as to what you want the businesses you buy from to do and support those that try and reduce their impact on our planet (like Tumble and Rose! :D)

In no particular order…every little helps!

Use existing postal services when sending your orders – by this I mean Royal Mail and other national post networks rather than couriers. We all know petrol and diesel emissions from cars and vans are bad, right? (If not, maybe this post isn’t the best place for you to start your eco journey – drop me a note and I can send some articles your way). Royal Mail have an infrastructure in place that means your postman is probably going past your house on any given day anyway, so an extra little parcel in his bag won’t make a difference – an old courier van zooming around the neighbourhood when it wouldn’t normally be there however is a different story! [I’d be super interested to see if anyone has any stats on the impact of things like Prime etc…]

Use recycled and recyclable packaging. By this I also mean no plastic. Use little mailer boxes rather than bags, use eco flow or shredded paper rather than bubble wrap. Repurpose packaging from your own parcels if you can! Boxes also go a long way to protecting your items during shipping, so it’s a win win.

Think about whether you really need to include order details in your shipment. Do you really need to print off an invoice onto paper that customers have probably been emailed anyway? There are some instances where it’s necessary, but for the most part I try to avoid it to save on paper.

More of a fun one - do more markets! Customers can find you in person instead of ordering online, meaning you cut out the shipping issue altogether and you actually get to talk to your customers face to face. Obviously this isn’t possible for every single location, but it’s really nice to actually be able to show off your product in person. I’ve actually made quite a few friends with people who were looking at my rings but came to check them out in person. Also, they’re usually quite a fun day out and you get to meet other small makers.

Use paper bags at the markets to give people their purchases, or even better, ask if they even need a bag at all. This cuts out the need for those awful thin plastic bags and stops them reaching the ocean.

Always support other small businesses – source your packaging from them, raw materials etc. This is because, like you, they probably don’t have massively damaging infrastructure in place, and I like to think it puts good out into the world – remember how happy you are when you get an order? They are too!

Know your supply chain/suppliers. This one is really important and often overlooked. I am on first name terms with pretty much all of my suppliers – it’s how I can guarantee there’s no shady practice going on and I know what to expect. It also is just quite nice to know you’ve got this little network of real people out there in the world making your idea a reality.

Know what goes in your products. Are your raw materials really what you think they are? Are they vegan? Is there any cruelty involved in the process? You can’t claim to be eco-friendly if you don’t know the answers to these questions, and ignorance isn’t an excuse. My crystals are sourced directly from the miners, and most of my other materials are recycled. They’re all vegan.

Get your flyers/business cards from sustainable sources and suppliers that use eco-friendly ink. You might think it’s a small thing, but it’s best to be on the right side of it.

Where possible, make something yourself, or if not find local suppliers. One of the reasons that I am not making any more pin designs is that I can’t justify the air miles associated with them and the emissions factories creating them are likely to put out, so once my current pins are sold out, that’s it. I get my patches produced by a UK manufacturer and everything else I make by hand in my studio. Where I have to source from abroad (opals aren’t mined in Southampton…) I group my purchases so that they’re not frequently making trips on a plane.

Finally, talk about it! One of the best things you can do is keep stuff like this on the agenda and urge other little businesses to do the same – who knows, one day maybe the big ones will follow suit!

So the title of the post gives it away entirely, but I’ve got some exciting news! Our* amethyst rings are featured in the ‘Introducing’ section of Mollie Makes magazine issue 104 and they’ve written up quite the cute little description about the process behind the rings. It’s out now if you wanted to grab your own copy.

I absolutely adore Mollie Makes and seeing my work in their magazine was one of my goals for 2019 so I’m very happy to say I’ve smashed it.

I’ve restocked the amethyst rings just in case there’s a huge rush (!) but if you have come to this little corner of the internet via the feature, please let me know!

Now I just need to convince them to let me do a tutorial, and get a picture of Dusty in it…

* Helen xo

*(my? It’s just me running Tumble and Rose but I feel like I should say ‘our’ as a brand – thoughts?)